Achieving competitive urban land markets in new system<\/p>\n
The government will establish an independent economic umpire to ensure councils achieve competitive urban land markets through the new planning system, Housing and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and RMA Reform Under-Secretary Simon Court say.<\/p>\n
An amendment paper to the Government\u2019s Planning Bill will establish the role of an independent Urban Land Market Officer to determine whether urban land markets are competitive, to monitor and report on land market performance, and to advise central government and councils on actions to increase competitiveness.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, the Resource Management Act (RMA) has acted as a handbrake on growth and opportunity. It is directly responsible for New Zealand\u2019s housing crisis by limiting the supply of urban land and housing \u2013 driving up costs for New Zealanders,\u201d Mr Bishop says.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur new planning system will deliver the most significant pro-housing reforms in a generation. It will give homeowners more freedom and give prospective homeowners and renters more choice. It will also speed up consenting and create clear and consistent rules across the country. Additionally, private plan change requests will be made much easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cA specific goal of the new Planning Bill is for the system to enable competitive urban land markets by making land available to create abundant development opportunities for residential and business use.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis creates a statutory obligation on councils to ensure that the supply of urban land is responsive to demand such that land prices do not materially or persistently reflect scarcity premiums. In other words, councils will need to be conscious that their planning rules do not create an artificial scarcity of developable land which in turn pushes up land prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is fundamental to improving housing affordability, supporting economic growth, and accelerating productivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo ensure councils fulfil this obligation, Cabinet has agreed to establish a new Urban Land Market Officer. They will provide independent assurance to government that planning decisions made locally support competitive urban land markets \u2013 getting these critical decisions out of the hands of central government politicians and into the hands of experts.<\/p>\n
This new officer will focus on monitoring and advising on urban land market competitiveness. It will have functions to:<\/p>\n
develop a framework which would include any thresholds for determining competitiveness set in line with national instruments
\nmonitor and report on the competitiveness of urban land markets
\nrequire information from local authorities to enable an assessment as to the competitiveness of their urban land markets
\nassess the extent land use regulation is impacting the competitiveness of urban land markets
\nmake formal determinations on whether a land market is competitive or not.
\nadvise the government on actions to increase competitiveness in land markets<\/p>\n
If the Officer makes a determination that a local authority\u2019s actions under the Planning Act have contributed to a non-competitive urban land market, then the local authority will need to take action to address this, such as by progressing a plan change to enable more capacity for housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonitoring in other markets that have monopolistic characteristics drives better outcomes for New Zealanders \u2013 like the Commerce Commission and regulated utilities. Urban land markets are similar as a council effectively controls the supply of urban land and development capacity in an urban market.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens in our land markets matters a great deal to growth, productivity and prosperity and deserves appropriate independent scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one of the final pieces in the puzzle of Pillar One of our Going for Housing Growth agenda. The independent officer will help ensure that every council is zoning enough land for housing.<\/p>\n
Mr Bishop says that the overriding statutory obligation on councils to ensure competitive urban land markets is on top of agreed government policy to make it easier for cities to expand up and outward through:<\/p>\n
the abolition of rural-urban boundaries,
\nHousing Growth Targets which will set a requirement for councils to enable 30 years of feasible development capacity,
\nnew standardised zones which will provide for a mix of uses across urban areas and not allow for minimum floor areas or balcony requirements, and
\na requirement to upzone around transport corridors.<\/p>\n
These policies will be developed through National Policy Direction and National Standards in the new system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is throwing the kitchen sink at sorting out the fundamentals of housing supply.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Court says the Officer adds another important accountability mechanism to make sure councils turn the corner from the RMA and start making the decisions needed to deliver the step change these reforms are designed to achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulatory relief and the Planning Tribunal are already key safeguards against the over-regulation that became synonymous with the RMA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Urban Land Market Officer is another lever for driving culture shift, with a clear focus on whether councils are actually enabling enough land for growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long councils have been able to weaponise an ever-growing list of \u2018effects\u2019, or game theoretical capacity targets, while constraining real development and driving land and house prices to eye-watering levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Urban Land Market Officer will bring independent expertise, scrutiny, and transparency to that problem. If a council is choking off land supply, there will now be an independent umpire to call it out and require action \u2014 without putting those decisions back into politicians\u2019 laps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a significant shift that will help ensure the planning system supports rather than hinders the delivery of homes,\u201d Mr Bishop says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve also removed all barriers to private plan change applications, allowing developers to request these at any time. In addition, we expect the National Policy Direction to require that where land markets have been found to be uncompetitive by the Independent Officer, the assessment for private plan changes will put the \u2018finger on the scale\u2019 towards development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is about making sure New Zealand has enough land for homes, businesses, and infrastructure. Being more transparent on planning rules which are holding us back from growth, will help create the conditions for more housing, lower costs, and ultimately better opportunities for New Zealanders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notes to editor:<\/p>\n
An Amendment Paper will shortly be released to create the role and set out its functions and powers in the Planning Bill that will replace the RMA.
\nThe Officer will be an independent statutory officer within the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport.
\nThe Officer will develop and publish a framework for assessing urban land market competitiveness. Using the framework, the Officer will make formal determinations on whether a land market is competitive and publish the reasons for those determinations. Councils will be required to respond to any determinations that find that the council has contributed to a lack of competitiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Achieving competitive urban land markets in new system […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10164628679967220_110360201440802":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10882,"url":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?p=10882","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":0},"title":"Certainty for Waikato and Manawat\u016b-Whanganui farmers","author":"\u7f16\u8f91\u90e8","date":"19\/08\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Government is taking targeted action to provid\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","block_context":{"text":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10001,"url":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?p=10001","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":1},"title":"Open ocean salmon farm Fast-tracked","author":"\u7f16\u8f91\u90e8","date":"10\/08\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Fast-track approval of the Hananui Aquaculture\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","block_context":{"text":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SNyaVCNZZf-e1777865245464.jpg?fit=245%2C217&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10271,"url":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?p=10271","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":2},"title":"Speech: Civil Contractors NZ Conference","author":"\u7f16\u8f91\u90e8","date":"13\/08\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Note: Minister Bishop also spoke to the Ministeria\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","block_context":{"text":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SNyaVCNZZf-e1777865245464.jpg?fit=245%2C217&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10883,"url":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?p=10883","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":3},"title":"A more practical planning system for food and fibre production","author":"\u7f16\u8f91\u90e8","date":"19\/08\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Government is making targeted changes to the n\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","block_context":{"text":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5518,"url":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?p=5518","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":4},"title":"The Point Mission Bay Retirement Village Fast-tracked","author":"\u7f16\u8f91\u90e8","date":"12\/06\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Point Mission Bay retirement village project i\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","block_context":{"text":"\u7c7b\u4f3c\u6587\u7ae0","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SNyaVCNZZf-e1777865245464.jpg?fit=245%2C217&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7621,"url":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?p=7621","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":5},"title":"\u6b22\u8fce\u73af\u5883\u59d4\u5458\u4f1a\u63d0\u4ea4\u300a\u81ea\u7136\u73af\u5883\u6cd5\u6848\u300b\u548c\u300a\u89c4\u5212\u6cd5\u6848\u300b\u62a5\u544a","author":"\u7f16\u8f91\u90e8","date":"20\/07\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u519c\u4e1a\u90e8\u957fTodd McClay\u8868\u793a\uff0c\u73af\u5883\u59d4\u5458\u4f1a\u63d0\u4ea4\u300a\u89c4\u5212\u6cd5\u6848\u300b\uff08Planning Bill\uff09\u548c\u300a\u81ea\u7136\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u5728\u201c\u65b0\u897f\u5170\u534e\u4eba\u6bcf\u65e5\u8d44\u8baf\u7f51\u201d\u4e2d","block_context":{"text":"\u65b0\u897f\u5170\u534e\u4eba\u6bcf\u65e5\u8d44\u8baf\u7f51","link":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?cat=26"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SNyaVCNZZf-e1777865245464.jpg?fit=245%2C217&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}